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Arts & Culture

After Sudden Grant Cancellations, Humanities Funding Is Back — Kind Of

California Humanities now has access to about half of its federal funds and is scrambling to pay out grantees.
Sarah Hotchkiss
blurry figure crossing in front of building with agency names
The National Endowment for the Humanities gave notice to California Humanities that about half of their funding had been reinstated. No explanation was given. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has unexpectedly reinstated a portion of funding to nonprofits and state humanities councils after millions of dollars in previously awarded grants were canceled on April 3. California Humanities, one of those recipients, is now scrambling to get that money into the hands of its grantees.

“We don’t know why,” said Rick Noguchi, president and CEO of California Humanities, of the notice he received on June 25 that some funding had been restored. “There was no explanation. It just said the termination has been rescinded.”

California Humanities previously received over 90% of its funding from the NEH; Noguchi estimated about half of their funding is now available to them.

“The good news for us is that we are able to access some funds,” Noguchi said. The organization’s number-one priority is now to get those funds to their grantees, including documentary filmmakers, theaters, museums, storytelling projects and public events across the state.

California Humanities has over 110 open grants, all of which were suspended on April 4 after NEH funding was canceled. Now California Humanities staff are working to distribute that money to everyone who still needs it. Over the past three months, Noguchi said, “Some groups might have paused their project or canceled them outright without our funding.”

Right now, California Humanities intends to fully disburse all outstanding grants. But Noguchi cautions that like this sudden “rescinded termination,” the situation at the federal level could change unexpectedly. “It’s been really challenging having to manage and navigate through a lot of this uncertainty,” he said. “In this environment, you can expect the unexpected.”

Some of the challenges come from the fact that the NEH is noticeably understaffed. Approximately two-thirds of NEH employees were laid off on June 10.

At least one other NEH grantee (the agency also supplies grants directly to nonprofits, in addition to state councils) received notice that their funding had also been reinstated. The Chinese Historical Society of America and the WWII Chinese American GI Project will now be able to close out their series of discussions with Chinese American veterans. “Unfortunately,” project director Montgomery Hom wrote to KQED in an email, “all the NEH program team members that I was working with previously are gone.”

For nearly 50 years, the partnership between the NEH and state humanities councils have provided funding to cultural and community organizations in all states and jurisdictions. Now, Noguchi said, California Humanities is reimagining what it is as an organization, facing a potential future without any NEH funding — or an NEH at all.

While California Humanities is seeking new funding from philanthropic partners, Noguchi stressed that private money will never be able to match federal funding, especially on an ongoing basis. California Humanities is urging Congress to restore the NEH’s budget in FY26.

“Culture is so important to who we are as Californians,” Noguchi said. “And it really requires everyone’s input and participation in democracy to maintain our identity.”

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